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WestScenic

Waitākere Ranges Regional Park

Sixteen thousand hectares of rainforest between the city and the sea, and about 250km of track through it.

ScenicWaitākere
Waitākere Ranges Regional Park in Waitākere
Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The big one. Kauri and nikau all the way from Scenic Drive down to the black sand, with the coast at the bottom of nearly every valley. Arataki is the gateway and the place to check what is open, because kauri dieback closes tracks and the closures move. Nothing here is a stroll: the gradients are real and the weather turns.

3.3
Overall rating

Weighted average of the factors below

4.8(177)Google rating 4.8 out of 5 from 177 reviewsView on Google Maps

Food & coffee nearby
1.5
Prams & access
2.2
Scenery
5.0
Toilets & water
3.0
Parking
3.6
Safety
3.0

What to expect

Nature reserve known for surfing off black-sand beaches & waterfall hikes through native rainforest.

Photos

Facilities checked 2026-08-13 againstaucklandcouncil.govt.nz, data-aucklandcouncil.opendata.arcgis.com

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